EmilyHarrington

LanguageDevelopmentPhaseGrowth
Phase1

CriterionA:OralCommunication
Thiscriterionrequiresunderstandingandresponsetosimpledialogue,limitedeveryday
communication,appropriateuseoflanguage,register,accuratevocabulary,andcomprehensible
pronunciation/interactionwhilespeaking.Inthebeginningofthisphase,Icouldonlyextract
verybasicelementsoftheFrenchlanguagelikeIam/JeSuisandestceque.Throughdifferent
taskslikereadingmydiagnostic,readingmystorybook,andmakingmyowncommercial,Ican
hearhowmyoralcommunicationhasimproved.Istutterlessandknowhowtopronouncemore
accurately,pauseintherightplaces,andreadasIwouldinEnglish.Myunderstandingof
conjugationandregisterisalsomoresound.Throughotherexerciseslikereadingarticles,I
askedquestionstomyclassmatesandtalkedaboutgrammar,pronunciation,etcaswell
highlightingmyimprovedabilitytocommunicatecasuallyandrespondwhenaskedquestionsin
French.IlearnedmoreaboutphrasingandhowsomephraseswearetaughtinFrenchactually
soundawkwardtoFrenchspeakers.Ihaveanewappreciationhowculturecanimpactthe
slightestaspectsofourliveslikehowwesaythingsandhowitshapesthewaywecommunicate.
IfeelItrulyhaveabetterfoundationinthemechanicsofFrenchandfeelmoreconfidentin
speaking.

ObjectiveB:VisualInterpretation
ThecriterioninpartBcalltoidentifybasicmessagesandinvisualtexts,identifyspecific
information,ideas,opinionsandattitudespresentedinsimplevisualtext,recognizebasicvisual
conventions,andunderstandandrespondtosimplevisualtexts.Ifeelthetasksthatexemplify
mygrowthinthisareathemostismyduolingohours,readingMadeleine/Artemise,and
watchingmyclassmatesFrenchcommercials.Whenworkingwithduolingo,myinterpretations
wereverybasicandmoreorlesshandedtomewithimages.AsIreadthestories,however,Isaw
thatIstartedtouseimagerytoguidemyreadingandinterpretationinsteadofgivingitawayto

me.IalsopracticedthiswiththecommercialsbecauseIwasabletoidentifyhowlanguageand
visualelementsworktogethertoconveysympathyandcompassion.Inmyportfolio,Iwasable
tounderstandandextractfromtheseactivities,butalsorespondtothemontheblog.

CriterionC:ReadingComprehension
Thereadingcomprehensioncriterionaretoidentifybasicfactsinsimplewrittentexts,recognize
mainideasandsupportingdetailsinadditiontobasicaspectsofstyle,andunderstandand
respondtosimplewrittentexts.Iveexhibitedgrowththroughtheseobjectivesthroughmy
engagementwithmorecomplicatedtextsthanarticlesasImovedon.Irecognizedmorecomplex
stylesandwaslessvulnerabletocomplicatedwordsbythetimeIstartedreadingArtemisethe
mostadvancedtextIvereadinFrench.Throughthetasksonreadingcomprehension,Ihave
growntonotonlyrecognizewords,butunderstandtheirmeaningandimportanceinrelationto
theaudience.

CriterionD:Writing
communicateinformation,requestandprovideinformationinalimitedrange,uselanguagein
interpersonalandculturalcontexts,understandandusebasiclanguageconventionsaccurately,
andusesomeaspectsofregister.Inthebeginninginmylanguagediagnostic,Iwasunsureofa
lotofmygrammarandwordchoice.Ididntevenknowhowtophrasecertainwords.AsI
continuedtowriteinFrenchallthroughoutmybloginreflections,tasks,etc,Igrewtobetter
understandthemechanicsofFrench.IevenbegantoconjugateandincorporatewordsIlearned
intosentencesorinothertaskslikemycommercial.IgrewmoreawareofhowaspectsofFrench
areemployedtoaddressdifferentaudienceslikevousvs.touswhenconsideringformalor
informalconversation.Ialsolearnedalotofnewphrasesandhowtowordthingsinawaythat
makesmoresenseandnotjusttranslatingwordforwordfromEnglish.Iwasonlyableto
comprehendalimitedideaofsentencesortextsbefore,butnowIamabletorespondtothese
textsappropriately.IevenlearnedtorhymeinmyFrenchstorybookwhichissomethingInever
considereddoinginFrenchbefore.